Abnormal Psychology 1

Abnormal Behavior

A psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning that is not typical or culturally expected.

Three major categories make up the study and discussion of psychological disorders.

Clinical description, causation which means ( etiology), creation of science( conducting research).

Personal Distress

Difficulty performing expected and appropriate roles.

Describe course of disorders

Episodic, time limited course, chronic course.

Prevalance

How many people have the disorder

Episodic course

Is when an individual happens to recover for a short period of time.( weeks) only to suffer a recurrence at a later time.

Clinical description

It is the unique combinations of behavior, thoughts and feelings that make up a specific disorder.

A typical or non-expected response

Reaction is outside cultural norms. At times sometimes this is considered abnormal it deviates from the normal average. The greater the deviation the more abnormal it is.

Chronic course

Tend to last a long time.

Incidence

The number of new cases over a period of time( ex: per year)

The field of Psychopathology

The scientific study of psychological disorders

Time limited course

When an individual will improve without treatment Ina relatively short period of time.

Acute onset

When the disorder began suddenly.

Insidious on set

When the disorder develops gradually over an extended period of time.